Betrothed
by Nazen
Summary: Kai is betrothed to a girl whom he has never met. But what will happen when Kai finds himself falling for her handsome escort, Rei,he also falls in love with his bride-to-be,and his entire family turns up at his doorstep only to further complicate things?
1. Chapter 1

**Bethrothed - A Fanfiction by Nazen**

**Summary: **Kai Hiwatari, due to years of family tradition, is betrothed to a girl who he has never met. But what will happen when Kai finds himself falling for her handsome escort, Rei, he also falls in love with his bride-to-be, and his entire family turns up at his doorstep only to complicate things even further?

**Section: **Beyblade

**Genre: **Romance

**Rating: **PG-13 ( Rating might go up )

**Warnings: **Language, violence, sexual themes, yaoi ( boyxboy relationship )

**Chapter One: I'm WHAT?**

Bethrothed. It's not a common word, one that is almost non-existant in today's society. And why should it be? No one is betrothed anymore. That sort of thing happened back in medevial times.

To most the word means nothing. Bethrothed. What a useless word, they might think. Let's just discard it from our vocabulary entirely, and pretend that it doesn't exist anymore.

But to those who _are _bethrothed, the word means everything and then some.

Some people don't even know what the word means, and most who don't know could care less. For those who are bethrothed, they would very much like to grab the people who turn a blind eye to the word, and give them a good shake.

Half of the dictionaries that you will find will not carry the word within their pages. If you ask a person in your classroom what the word bethrothed means, they will simply stare at you like you just asked if they are distantly related to Medusa.

Why do I care so much about a word that no one uses and no one cares about, you ask? What do I have to gain from this short rant?

Because I am bethrothed.

Tiny droplets of crystalized water hung from the rafters, rooftops and trees of the city, quivering violently whenever a strong breeze blew past, some torn off of their perch and plummeting towards the ground, instantly shattering into a million tiny shards of ice as soon as they hit the frozen cement.

It was rather eerie to watch a storm of them rain down upon the ground whenever a wind blew past, like somewhere, there was a sharp, pointy object with your name on it.

But there were much more amusing things to be entertained with, such as the newly fallen snow that covered the city like a freezing white blanket. Most of the snow had not been destroyed by hundreds of human feet and animals tramping through it yet, but some of the snow was being used to frolic happily in for some children who had risen early to play.

Numerous forts of snow littered a section of the snow in the local park, with about ten children throwing snowballs at each other, engaged in a harmless game of war. When one was hit, they simply wiped the melted snow off of their jackets and laughed. Not like in a real war, where very rarely the person who had been hit rose again.

Other children were making snow angels a little bit away from the snow war, and some were building a large snowman. The large balls of snow which had been used to build the snowman were rather flattened and lopsided, and looked like they would collapse if you poked one with a feather. The children didn't seem to mind, however. They were currently searching for carrots to put on the snowman's nose.

As if we all walk around with carrots that we drop in random places in hope that some child will find the organic vegetable and use it to complete a snowman.

A fair distance away from the park, on the very peak of a hilltop, stood an enormous, old, magnificant mansion. It was built of polished maple wood, and the snow clinging to the sides and rooftop gave it a rather gingerbread-house feel.

A few of the numerous windows that were scattered on the side of the house were decorated with steel bars. A few had chicken wire attached to them. Two were bolted shut. One was bolted and had numerous padlocks on it.

The enormous stretch of grounds surrounding the mansion were full of thick, gnarled trees - the kind that grabs your sleeve and tears it, or gets caught in your shirt collar, and practically chokes you when you start to walk. Some of the trees were so tightly pressed together, and so thick, that it was impossible to see though them, much less get past them.

None of the children who played around the mansion dared venture beyond the tall, steel gates that surrounded the boundaries of the grounds. Every child in that part of the city knew at least three stories about how children had decided to trespass in the grounds of the forbidding mansion, and none had ever come back.

If you asked anyone on the streets what they thought resided in the mansion, you would get a lot of varied responses. A vampire, some would say, because you never see anyone leaving the house in the daylight. A witch, others would respond. Perhaps she's brewing up some horrid concoction in there.

There would be a lot of suggestions, too many to write down, really. But a lot of people would say vampires, and just as many would be firmly decided that there was a witch in the mansion. But there were some who would say that there was a madman in the house, one that preyed on innocent children for delight.

And they wouldn't be too far off.

**Kai Hiwatari's POV**

Damn family tradition. Damn it to hell.

A family tradition is something that happens every year, usually when the whole family gets together to celebrate something, like Christmas or Thanksgiving. Most family traditions happen on a holiday.

You know what I'm talking about, right? You know, when your family gets together for Thanksgiving and your mother makes you wear that ridiculous turkey outfit and pretend to be scared and run away squawking when Uncle Bob comes into the room with a plastic hatchet every year?

Thought that would ring a bell. At least you have some clue what I'm trying to say here.

But my family tradition is not about celebrating. It doesn't even happen on a holiday. And for me, I would rather that it didn't happen at all.

For my family, our family tradition, which has been passed down among generations of Hiwataris for over three hundred years, is that every Hiwatari male, at the age of seventeen, has to marry the woman who he has been bethrothed to from birth.

Don't give me that what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about look. Didn't I already explain to you what bethrothing is?

I didn't?

Oh.

Well then, let's get started. We don't exactly have a lot of time here - dinner will be served in ten minutes.

To be betrothed is to be promised to someone at birth. Take my father, for example. He was promised to my mother when he was only a day old, and knew nothing of this arrangement until he was seventeen.

Then, at the age of seventeen, every Hiwatari male is _forced _to marry the woman whom they had been promised to since birth - even if they've never met them before, know nothing about them, don't like them, or love someone else.

To refuse a bethrothed marriage is like placing a WakkaxYuna pairing in a Final Fantasy X fanfiction. It simply isn't done.

So, as my grandfather has told me a countless amount of times, if I break this tradition, I will disgrace the entire family, and be cast out of the Hiwataris forever. Even as much as I hate my grandfather and this idiotic family tradition, my parents always wished for me to uphold the family, since 'my grandfather won't be around forever'.

I wonder who I am bethrothed to. I hope that the girl will be the one who refuses the marriage, because then she will be the one shamed forever. But if she doesn't refuse the marriage, I do hope that she is at least quite attractive. It would be horrendous if I was married to a wrinkled old hag.

Which makes me think of another thing. Suppose the girl is quite unattractive, and her idea of fun is to watch paint dry. Then what would I do?

Actually, I don't know what I would do. Perhaps it would be in order to run away. Yes. Running away seems like a good solution.

Bah. Who am I kidding? My grandfather has ways of finding runaways - I learned that a few years ago when my cousin Vanya ran away to Canada after learning that he was to be bethrothed. He already had a pretty girlfriend, and they were going steady. Actually, they were engaged, and were planning their wedding when my grandfather told Vanya that he was going to marry another woman who he had never met before in his life.

Horrified at the mere thought of losing his girlfriend, Yeva, Vanya hastily made plans to run away. Taking with him only half of his possessions, Vanya ran away with Yeva to Canada. Unfortunately, Vanya's bride-to-be had heard him discussing the plans to Yeva, and quickly told my grandfather.

But I have to give Vanya credit - he wasn't slow, that's for sure. He almost instantly learned that Grandfather had found out about the plans, and quickly switched his train ride from Scotland to Canada. He then bribed the train....er.....people.....to tell Grandfather ( because Vanya was most certain that he would call ) that Vanya had unfortunately been hit by a train in the night, having been unable to see it coming because the train's headlights had been broken in a rather unfortunate accident involving a chihuahua and an accountant.

Surprisingly, when my grandfather called the train station, he seemed to believe the outrageous lie. And while the train employees were sitting around and counting their money gleefully, Vanya and Yeva quickly hopped on a train headed for Canada, believing that they were home free.

Were they ever wrong.

Unbeknownst to them, Grandfather had managed to place a tracking device/bug on Vanya's favourite navy sweater, the one that he wore all of the time, so they would be sure to able to hear everything that Vanya said. Grandfather heard Vanya bribing the train station and the lie that he had told them to say, and pretended to believe it to catch Vanya off guard.

Vanya and Yeva were relaxing happily in the train, about halfway to Canada, when suddenly men in black suits and sunglasses burst into the car that they were in, pointing machine guns and rifles at Vanya and Yeva, and demanding that they come with them.

Vanya knew that the men had been hired by Grandfather, and refused to come with them. "I should be allowed to marry whomever I wish!" Vanya shouted in Russian, so that only the men in black and Yeva could understand. "Bethrothing is shit and I refuse to go along with it! Tell Voltaire that I shall be living happily in Canada with my _wife _by the time that he reccieves this message!"

Vanya never did know when to shut up.

His comments only infuriated the men in black, and four of them pounced on Yeva, dragging the shrieking girl upright and placing a gun to her head. They demanded that Vanya come with them, or else they would kill Yeva. Cursing in Russian, Vanya allowed his hands to be tied and he and Yeva were marched out of the car, with the other passengers looking visibly shaken, but knowing better than to interfere.

The two watched miserably as the train sped away, and they were left alone with Grandfather's hired hit men. Vanya instantly placed himself in front of Yeva protectively as the men approached them, but one pushed him roughly aside and another grabbed Yeva by her sleek black hair, dragging the girl towards him as she shrieked in pain.

"Voltaire only wants one to come back." The man sneered at Vanya, drawing his gun. "And orders are orders."

Freshly spilled crimson blood stained the snow like a blanket of red, with a long streak of blood leading towards the thick bushes where it looked like the bleeding object had been dragged. Only the following day would a six-year old girl and her mother find the lifeless body of Yeva, a large gunshot wound emblazened in the middle of the forehead that Vanya used to kiss and stroke so tenderly.

Nice story, isn't it? Anyways, when the men in black returned with Vanya to Russia, Grandfather let him have it. He would have killed him if it had not been for the fact that it would have shamed the family name. Grandfather believed that being forced to marry the woman that he was bethrothed to would be punishment enough.

So Vanya was married - against his will - but married, nevertheless, and he still is today. Did I mention that also once you're married, you can't divorce your wife? It bites, I know. That's what I was planning to do until I found out that you can't divorce.

I can't believe I wasted ten perfectly good minutes telling you about my family history. I'll bet that you didn't even listen to half of it. And I don't blame you - I usually zone out myself whenever Grandfather gets it into his head to threaten me with this story.

But that's not the point. The point is that I am **betrothed**, I have no idea who the person that I am going to marry is, I can't run away because the men in black would find me and gun me down, I can't divorce my wife, and my bride-to-be is coming tomorrow.

Could things get _any _worse?

Well, since I have nothing better to do, I'm going to tell you exactly how I found myself to be bethrothed.

**The Previous Day, Thursday Dinner, 6:13 PM**

_Cursing in Russian, I fished around for my black shoes undeneath my bed, which I knew were hiding somewhere, taunting me. I gritted my teeth as I heard my grandfather yelling in an irritated way from downstairs. Was he incapable of being quiet for one second?_

_I glanced at the black sneakers that were lying on top of the pile of shoes that had been pulled out from underneath my bed, wondering if I could possibly get away with wearing those to dinner. Unless my grandfather looked very closely at my dinner attire, he probably wouldn't notice that they weren't my dinner shoes._

_I quickly began searching underneath the bed again as I heard the tapping of his metal-tipped cane making it's way up the spiralling staircase. I wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell wearing those to dinner. My grandfather had eyes like a hawk, and could pick out the smallest little details, such as black cat hair on my black pants. It was rather unearthly._

_Breathing a sigh of relief as I yanked one of the dinner shoes out from undeneath a turtleneck, I quickly pulled it on with one hand and groped around undeneath the bed with my free hand. Finding it without difficulty, I pulled it on and quickly kicked the pile of shoes underneath the bed, making sure that my floor looked neat and tidy before leaving the bedroom. If there was one thing that Grandfather despised, it was a messy room._

_I met him halfway down the stairs, knowing better than to slide down the banister like I usually do. Grandfather gave me a sharp rap on the head with his cane for tardiness, then began to make his way down the stairs. I followed, being sure to keep close behind him. I was never allowed to pass my grandfather while walking._

_I quickly adjusted my tie, and pulled a loose strand of dark blue hair behind my ear when Grandfather wasn't looking. No sense in digging my own grave._

_Along the way, I noticed that my grandfather looked distracted, the evil glint in his eyes replaced by one of wondering. It was a side of my grandfather that I had never seen before. But I knew better than to ask, and kept my mouth shut during the walk down the stairs._

_Once we reached the bottom of the stairway, I noticed that all of the servants were casting odd glances at me. Some of them looked sympathetic, and others seemed to be trying to hold in laughter. I had no clue as to what they were up to, but shot death glares at them all the same. As we entered the dining room, one of the servants who was cleaning the table patted me on the shoulder as she departed the room._

_I looked quizzically at my grandfather, expecting some sort of explanation to the servant's strange behaviour, but reccieved none. My grandfather sat down in his seat, which resembled a throne, and waved a hand towards the other end of the table. Still confused, I sat down and unfolded my napkin, trying to ignore the servants serving the food, who all looked at me sympathetically._

_Finally, halfway through the dinner, I decided to finally ask Grandfather what was going on, convinced that a conspiracy must be afoot by the way the servant girl serving the filet mignon was snickering behind it. I placed my fork on my plate and looked across the table at my grandfather, who was taking a sip of wine._

_"Grandfather..." I started, waiting for him to acnowledge me. However, he simply finished sipping at his wine and placed the glass on the table, taking a bite of his filet mignon._

_"Grandfather..." I tried again, a bit louder this time. Grandfather swallowed his piece of meat and glared across the table at me. I know that he hates being disturbed at mealtimes, but I really couldn't stand it anymore._

_"Is something going on here? All of the servants - they're constantly looking oddly at me." While saying this, I threw a dirty look at the filet mignon girl, who was trying to look inconspicious cleaning behind Grandfather's chair, but who I knew was listening in on our conversation. The girl got the hint and quickly scuttled out of the room, leaving us alone._

_"Whatever do you mean, Kai? The servants are as normal as ever. Now eat your filet mignon." Grandfather said, taking another sip of his wine. I noticed that he didn't meet my gaze as he spoke, though._

_"Grandfather...." I said warningly, narrowing my eyes. This time, my grandfather met my glare with one of his own. We must have looked like peas in a pod, glaring at one another over the filet mignon. Finally, Grandfather gave an irritated sigh and settled back in his chair. "If you really must know."_

_I cut a piece of filet mignon off and chewed on it, waiting for him to speak. Grandfather took another sip of his wine before continuing. "Kai, I assume that you have noticed the women who have been joining our company at dinner these previous nights."_

_"It was hard not to." I muttered, staring at the marble table edge. For the past few nights, beautiful women about my age had been eating dinner with us. I had no idea who they were, but knew that my grandfather was trying to set me up with one of them, and therefore had shown no interest in them, ignoring them completely._

_Grandfather stabbed his fork in my direction. "How many times have I told you not to mutter, Kai? A Hiwatari never slouches and mutters, but stands up boldly and talks to a person's face."_

_I simply rolled my eyes, and waited for Grandfather to continue. Fortunately, he didn't see this rude action, and continued on. "Well, I see that you have shown no interest in them. Which is really quite a pity, seeing as how they are the most attractive and eligible women your age in this city."  
"Grandfather, I've told you before. I don't wish to marry. Having a useless woman clinging to me constantly is not something that I look forward to." I took a swig of my wine and stared at Grandfather over the rim of the glass._

_But, to my surprise, my grandfather smiled and settled back into his chair. "Actually, it's a good thing that you are not attracted to those women, Kai. Because you are not going to marry any of them."_

_I breathed an audible sigh of relief, chewing on another piece of filet mignon. But Grandfather continued. "Look at this woman, Kai. Tell me what you think of her." Digging a photo out of his pocket, Grandfather slid it across the smooth marble table to me._

_I stopped it with my fingertip and glanced at the woman who was in it. She was a very attractive Chinese girl, with unusual pink hair which cascaded down her shoulders and sides like a waterfall, and amber coloured eyes that made her look like a cat. She was wearing a dark pink chinese dress with gold trimming, and she had a very slender body. I thought that she looked very pretty - prettier than the other women who had come to dinner, anyway._

_I glanced at Grandfather, who was waiting for my reaction. "She's beautiful. But if you're planning to set me up with her, I have to decline." I took another sip of my wine._

_Grandfather smirked at me, stabbing his fork at me. "It's a good thing that you are attracted to her, Kai. Because you're going to wind up with her eventually - you have been bethrothed to her since your birth."_

_I choked on my wine and spat it out across the marble table, staring at my grandfather in shock. "You are NOT serious."_

_Grandfather wrinkled his nose at my vulgar display of wine-spitting and wiped his lips daintily with his napkin. "I am quite serious, Kai. You have been bethrothed to that woman since the day that you were born, and she will be coming all the way from her home country to visit us." Grandfather glared at me. "I trust that you will treat her with a proper amount of respect, Kai."_

_I was too stunned to say anything. My mouth simply flopped open and closed like a fish. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening._

_Grandfather took another sip of his wine. "Now that that's over with, eat your filet mignon. You have to look healthy for your bride-to-be."_

And that was it. Nothing I did or said could convince my grandfather that I didn't want to get married. Besides, it's not like I had a choice in the matter. You don't refuse a betrothed marriage.

Well, things couldn't get any worse than this.

Hmm? Someone's knocking at the door. Goddamnit. Whoever's knocking must not be very familiar at me - you don't knock at my door anytime after ten o'clock if you want to see tomorrow. It had better be something important.

Reluctantly, I got up off of my bed and unlocked my bedroom door. I was rather curious to see who had the nerve to knock on my door after ten at night. This person must have guts.

Oh, it's the filet mignon girl. What the hell does she want at this time of night?

She hands me a picture, curtsies, and practically trips over her own two feet as she hastily runs off. I raise an eyebrow as I watch her race down the stairs like the devil's on her heels. What's her problem? I glance at the photo.

Oh, it's the picture of that Chinese girl again. My bride-to-be. Come to think of it, Grandfather never did tell me her name. I suppose that it will be something beautiful, like her.

As I look at the photo, I begin to notice how truly beautiful this girl is. Thankfully, this girl has real beauty, not the fake prettiness of the other women who joined us for dinner. They were all so fake. I can't stand that.

Heck, this might not be so bad after all.

Wait a minute. What the hell am I thinking? I am never going to get betrothed.

Never.

Ever.

Ever.

Damnit, someone else is knocking at my door. It had better not be that filet mignon girl again.

Oh. Well, this is certainly unexpected.

**End Of Chapter One**

xD I really like how I portrayed Voltaire here. I believe that I really captured his personality.

Any guesses as to who Kai's bride-to-be is? Well, you'll find out soon enough, I suppose. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Betrothed - A Fanfiction By Nazen**

**Summary: **Kai Hiwatari, due to years of family tradition, is betrothed to a girl whom he has never met. But what will happen when Kai finds himself falling for her handsome escort, Rei, he also falls in love with his bride-to-be, and his entire family turns up at his doorstep only to complicate things even further?

**Section: **Beyblade

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Rating: **PG-13 ( Rating might go up )

**Warnings: **Language, violence, sexual themes, shonen-ai/yaoi ( boyxboy relationship )

I am SO sorry that I haven't updated since last year! Gomen nasai, people! O.o So much has been going on in my life, you wouldn't believe me if I told you.

And I'm not going to to tell you, so you shall all have to live with the disappointment. xD

Onwards to the reviews! ( 10 in one chapter...wow. )

**Ysriel (Dukester13web.de ):** Is 'pretty much' a good or bad thing? Oo Anyways, thank you for the review.

**M.S.K: **( hides ) I think that I have uncovered another Mao hater...xD Truth be told, I don't really think she's really _that_ bad. I just need to make her a bitch for this story. And anyways, how do you _know _that Kai will end up with Rei at the end? Who knows, I might just decide to throw a plot twist in somewhere. :D Thanks for the review.

**I-will-burn-KFC! **Thanks for the review! It's the most interesting one I've had so far. xD

**Seraphic Dragon: **Thanks for the review! Oh, and by the way, what does 'Ja Mata' mean? I know that 'ja ne' means 'see ya', but I'm clueless about 'ja mata'.

**StarryNightObsession: **This is the first story that has Rei betrothed to someone other than Kai? O.o That was my original intention, but then I decided to twist it around a bit and make it Mao. Oh, and for the last question, I believe that Kai would be the dominant one. Doesn't seem right to make Rei seme. xD

( proceeds to rip apart first chapter in search of OOC Kai parts )

**Reis1gurl: **XD w00t! Hot and spicy! Maybe not at first, but later on I plan to. Maybe I should change the rating to R in later chapters...anyways, thanks for the review.

**Soul's Eclipse: **Yes! I brought one over to our side! ( sticks a bright blue sticker on Soul's Eclipse that reads 'Yaoi Fan' ) Thank you for the review. :)

**The Girl With No Identity: **Thanks for the review! I really like that filet mignon girl that appeared in the last chapter, don't you? She'll probably pop up from time to time.

**Forfirith: The dark angel: **:D Thanks for the review! But I'm not the first person to make the Kai/Mao pairing. There's been a lot of them floating about recently.

**LittleMissYaoi: **Eh, it's no problem about the whole 'sticking-up-for-you' thing. I was glad to do it. :) Thanks for the review.

Oh yeah, and to answer the question which I asked last chapter - yes, Kai's bride _is _Mao. xD Hard, wasn't it?

**Chapter Two: An Apparation Of Beauty**

I cannot believe this. I _cannot _believe this.

How dare he do this. If I wasn't scared half to death of him, I would grab that cane right out of his wrinkly hands and whack him over the head with it. Maybe two times, just to be safe.

I don't need any of this crap slathered over any part of my body. What's _wrong _with the way that I look? I think that I look quite handsome, actually. Maybe even...oh, what's that word my fangirls can't go a sentence without saying..._hot._

But does my opinion count for anything? No, it does not. Because he's 'my guardian', he apparently has the power to control my entire life with an iron fist. I barely got two words out of my mouth before he hit me over the head with his cane, effectively blurring my vision for a few seconds, giving him time to grab me by my tie and roughly yank me out of my room, practically dragging me down eight flights of the spiralling stairway, and out the front door.

And that's how I wound up in the 'waiting area' of Paolo's Beauty Salon, brutally reduced to reading the latest edition of _Cosmo_, which I have to say, really isn't all that bad. Magazines like this give the male gender quite an opportunity to learn a bit more about the female race. And I can use all the help that I can get in that department, seeing as how my bride-to-be is going to be arriving in Japan at about 6:00 pm tonight, and I know absolutely nothing about what I should do when she comes.

However, _Cosmo _has been rather disappointing so far, lacking in the I-Just-Recently-Found-Out-I-Am-Betrothed-And-My-Bride-Is-Coming-From-A-Foreign-Land-At-6:00-Tonight-What-The-Hell-Should-I-Do department. However, there were several pages dedicated to 'Beyond Kama Sutra - _Advanced _Sex Positions'.

Oh, sure. I haven't even been on a date before - like I'm really going to get that far in the first few hours that I've met her.

Well, maybe the girl's a slut. Who knows. She could be the person who _wrote _Kama Sutra for all I bloody care. This isn't the point.

After searching fruitlessly through Cosmo a few times, I finally gave up and tossed the magazine behind my chair, where several sex-deprieved women practically flung themselves at it, attempting to gouge each other's eyes out as they scrambled to scoop up the magazine. The whole thing eventually escalated into this wild catfight, which I was almost knocked into, being in the chair right in front of them and all. I managed to slink off with a few more issues of _Cosmo _tucked beneath my arm, praying that none of the hormonally inbalanced woman managed to sniff out the scent of a fashion magazine and rip off my arm in search of Advanced Sex Positions.

Thankfully, they didn't, distracted due to the sight of large red words spelling out _Kama Sutra _in front of their beady little eyes, and continued to fight for about a minute until a hairdresser finally noticed the screeching noises and took the magazine away. Two of the women muttered something unintelligable and slunk off to go make out with the towelboys or something, while one woman sat down in the chair opposite me, holding a hand to a large scratch on her cheek gingerly, staring at the four issues of _Cosmo _I had seated on my lap.

And when I say staring, I mean _staring. _God, she stared at those magazines so hard, it felt like either she was going to burn a hole in my crotch or levitate the magazines over to her. Finally, after enduring three minutes of the crotch-burning stare, I grumbled something and tossed a magazine over to her. "Fetch."

The woman leaped for it like it was life support, but unfortunately, one of the other women from before, who would make a pretty good Search and Rescue dog, with that high-powered scent of hers, also scrambled for it, which quickly led to another wild catfight. Two of the hairdressers practically had to get the Jaws of Life to pry them off of each other.

Go figure.

Anways, about two minutes after the women were 'escorted' out of the Salon, Grandfather came over to where I was sitting, flipping fruitlessly through the October Edition of _Cosmo._ I could tell that it was him without even looking up. The constant _clickety-clack _of his cane tapping against the floor helps me hear whenever he's approaching, and hopefully have enough time to hide somewhere.

However, aside from a potted geranium that was sitting beside my chair, there was no where to hide. I pretended to be deeply absorbed in the issue of _Cosmo_, so maybe he would see that I was busy and he would just leave me alone.

Like _that _was actually going to happen. The metal-tipped part of the cane came down sharply onto my hand. I gritted my teeth in pain and looked up at him. Grandfather glared down at me with a mixed expression of annoyance and beweldierment.

"Kai Hiwatari, what in the name of hell are you doing reading that?" Grandfather asked, sounding both angry and extremely confused. I rested the hand that wasn't stinging in pain on my chin and placed a bored expression on my face.

"I'm bored. Besides, there's nothing else in this," - here I gestured around the salon with my free hand -"wastepit to do. This is a complete waste of my time. I'm getting out of here." With that, I closed the issue of _Cosmo_, stood up and took a step forward.

Unfortunately, that was as far as I got. I was quickly greeted with the sight of the metal-tipped cane resting a millimetre away from my nose. "Do you _want _to greet your bride-to-be looking like a slob, or as a dignified member of the Hiwatari family?" Grandfather asked me coldly.

I glared at him over the metal tip of the cane. "I would much rather look like a civilized human being, but I can look that way without having layers of crap slathered all over my face."

Grandfather stabbed me quickly on the bridge of my nose with the cane, and quickly glanced around to see if anyone had heard. "Refrain from speaking of Paolo in that disrespectful manner, Kai! He is one of the most prestegious stylists in the world, and if he happens to overhear you speaking of him that way-"

Touching the spot where I had been hit gingerly, I pushed the cane away from my face. "Don't have a fit, Grandfather. Paolo won't hear anything that I don't want him to."

"But," I added quickly, before Grandfather could start talking again, "what's the point of all of this? I don't think that my bride is really going to notice if I have expensive beauty stuff all over my body or not."

At this, Grandfather let out a loud snort that caused several hairdressers to look around wildly with expressions of panic on their faces, apparently under the impression that a wild pig had broken in or something.

"What," I glared at Grandfather. What had I said?

"Kai, Kai, Kai. What _have _you learned about women, exactly," Grandfather asked me between snorts of laughter. I raised an eyebrow in question.  
"Enough, I suppose. What the hell is so funny?" I snapped during my last sentence as Grandfather let out another loud snorting noise. He straightened his back, looked me straight in the eyes and said one sentence.

"You know nothing about women."

And that was how I wound up in one of those spinny chairs, waiting for some hairdresser to come and make me into a 'handsome young man', as Grandfather so aptly put it.

In about a minute, I saw some really skinny man striding over to me, wearing some leather pants and a..._mesh top_. Which, might I mention, were both very tight.

Crap.

**5:15 PM, Saturday Afternoon, Kai's Bedroom**

Argh.

I feel like a freaking china doll, the way that I've been forced to dress up and look. I can barely move my arms in this stiff suit, let alone the rest of my body. How the hell am I supposed to greet my bride-to-be when I can't get up off of my bed?

This is horrid. I keep hoping that I'll wake up and see that this is all a nightmare, and that I am not betrothed, my wife is not coming in less than an hour, and I can't move properly without looking retarded.

Grandfather keeps poking his head into my room to see what I'm doing. I'm in the same sprawled-out position whenever he comes, and I've stopped listening to his yells about how I should sit up properly and stop looking like I want someone to lay me.

Psht, easy for him to say. At least he can _move._

What the hell did the laundry woman spray this suit with, starch?

Anyway, there's really nothing to do right about now, except stare out my window at the snow below. It looks so beautiful and untouched, like a cold blanket of white. Damn, there is _nothing _that I want to do more at this moment than go outside and sit in that tree right in the middle of it all, and watch the snowflakes fall...

Unfortunately, my image of snow was rudely interrupted by my door banging open, and Grandfather appearing in the doorway. I groaned and tried to roll over onto my stomach so I wouldn't have to look at him, but my lack of moving skills made it rather impossible.

"Have I not told you to knock before you enter," I snapped at him. "What is it?"

Grandfather ignored my blunt display of rudeness, and instead practically threw a beige furry object at me, which yowled loudly as it flew through the air towards my face.

"Jebat'-kopat'!"**1** Momentarily forgetting where I was and that Grandfather was in the room, I slipped back into Russian as I instinctively flung myself off of the bed. The furry object landed loudly where my face had been a few seconds before, and shot off like a bullet under my bed.

I glared up at Grandfather from my position on the floor. "What the hell was that for? You could've gouged my eyes out!"

Grandfather didn't look too concerned about my eyes, but had an appalled look on his face-from my language, I suppose. Striding up to me, he stabbed me on the bridge of my nose again with his cane. Wincing, I sat bolt upright, a fingertip pressed to the smarting spot.

"That..._thing_...was shedding cat hair all over the house. You will keep it in your room while your guest is here, along with the other one." Before I could open my mouth to protest how unfair this was, Grandfather held up a hand to silence me, and continued.

"Never use that kind of language in my presence, Kai." Grandfather's voice was as cold as the snow outside as he looked down at me frostily over his nose. Grandfather has this big issue with swearing in his presence - calls it _'vulgar'_.

"Yes, Grandfather," I mumbled rebelliously, moving into a standing position with some difficulty. Grandfather glared at me for a moment or two while I stared at the floor, then strode out of the room with an air of annoyance, closing the door behind him. I quickly hobbled over to the door and locked it, then got on all fours and shuffled towards my bed.

Lifting a part of the bedsheets up, I peered into the inky black darkness under my bed, where the furry object had shot off to. "Luuukaaa..." I called softly, sticking my hand under the bed and rummaging around.

Eventually, my fingers touched soft fur and I stuck my other hand under the bed, pulling out the beige furry object, stroking it tenderly as I moved into a sitting position.

"Sorry about that," I whispered, scratching behind it's ears, which twitched everytime I touched them. "He's a real pain in the ass, eh?"

The object shifted and poked it's head up, mewing softly. It was my cat, Luka. His name is a form of Luke, and is named after Saint Luke, who was the author of the Third Gospel and acts in the New Testament. I refrained from naming him Luke because it sounds idiotic.

"Where's your brother, neh?" I asked Luka softly, still scratching behind his ears. But Luka simply meowed again and snuggled into my chest. I smiled a bit and patted his head. A lot of people don't know this about me, but I'm a cat person. I own two - but right now I don't know where the other one is.

However, my question was soon answered as I heard a loud crash downstairs, and a shriek of rage. I rested my head against the end of my bed and waited patiently as I heard more smashing noises, two more shrieks, and the sound of feet thumping up the staircase.

Soon enough, the sounds grew louder as the person neared my floor. Lifting Luka off of my lap and standing up, I hobbled over to the door and unlocked it, opening it wide. In a few seconds, a black blur shot into my room, and I quickly locked the door.

Scurrying over to my bed, I flopped onto it and listened with a sense of satisfaction as my door was beaten senseless by a very annoyed person who I knew was Cook. After about a minute, she stomped off downstairs, and I peered over the side of the bed, where my two cats were sitting, looking up at me with twin expressions of innocence.

"What did you get, Kazmir?" I asked with curiousity, wondering what on earth could have made Cook so angry. And then I saw the huge trout in his mouth, the middle pierced by his sharp teeth. Kazmir looked up at me with a look of satisfaction.

Kazmir is my second cat, and even though he and Luka aren't related, I call them brothers anyway. Luka is a rather careful and timid cat, while Kazmir is outgoing and mischevious, but they get along fine. Kazmir's name means 'to destroy greatness'.

And, judging by the number of antiquites he's destroyed during his time in this house, I would say that the name is rather fitting.

Sighing, I rested my chin on my left palm. Grandfather would have my head for this - Cook had been preparing that trout all day - it was meant for the dinner that we were all meant to have when my bride came. Of all the things in the kitchen that Kazmir had to steal...

Wait a minute...my bride?

"Damnit!" Leaping up off of my bed, I hastily glanced at the clock. 5:57...augh! Where did the time go?

Quickly checking my reflection in my mirror to see if I looked alright, I unlocked my door and bolted outside, deciding to take the short way down the staircase this time. Hopping onto the banister, I pushed myself forward and slid the length of the banister, coming to a halt precariously in front of an ancient ming vase that had been recently placed at the end of the banister.

I might not seem like the type of person to slide down banisters, but it is a rather fast way to get downstairs. Leaping off of the banister with a bound and landing at the foot of the stairs, I brushed beige cat hair off of my pants and strode smartly into the dining room.

Grandfather was sitting in his chair with his fingertips pressed together, a rather impatient look on his face. When he saw me, he stood up and began to walk over to me. "Kai, where have you been?"

"I lost track of time," I replied curtly, which was true. However, Grandfather simply gave me a disapproving look and motioned for me to follow him into the front area of the house.

I followed, straightening my tie and feeling a sense of dread creep into my stomach, making me feel even more sick than I already was. Grandfather stopped at the door, where one of our maids was waiting silently. I think that her name is Katya, which means purity.

Katya curtsied when we entered the room, and curtsied again when we stood beside her. Grandfather nodded curtly, and she opened the door. "Look outside, Kai. What do you see," Grandfather motioned towards the doorway.

Feeling that this wasn't really the time to be playing I Spy, I shuffled into the doorway and looked down the hill at the street below. I had to muffle a gasp by clapping a hand over my mouth.

No less than twelve limosuines(sp?) were parked on the street below, one of them bearing the flag of China, which was fluttering wildly in the wind, effectively ridding it of all snow. People on the surrounding streets were stopping to point and stare, and I noticed that no less than thirty people were looking from their balconies.

"Do you now see, Kai?" I jumped slightly as Grandfather suddenly appeared beside me in the doorway. "Do you see the precautions that I have taken to make sure that your bride arrives safely? Do you see what I am doing so that you can have a wonderful life with this woman?

Yeah, yeah, whatever. I barely listened as Grandfather spoke, focusing all of my attention on the cars. Then, all of a sudden, one opened. The people on the street let out a collective gasp as six armed and burly men piled out onto the street, all equipped with at least two guns. The same thing happened with nine more cars, until the street was packed with armed men who I hoped were not terrorists.

Then, the door of the car bearing the flag of China opened, and two more burly men stepped out into the snow. But I barely gave them a second glance or listened to Grandfather's sigh of pleasure as I watched two more people get out of the car.

One of them was a young Chinese male dressed in a black suit. He had lightly tanned skin and sleek, raven-black hair that was tied into a long white wrap that reached to the middle of his thigh. He also had unusually coloured amber eyes. I didn't pay too much attention to him, but concentrated my focus on the next person getting out of the car, her hand clasped in the Chinese male's.

A slender Chinese female stepped gracefully out of the limo, the dark pink chinese dress she was wearing accenting her figure perfectly. She shivered slightly in the cold air, and was instantly draped with a dark pink coat with what I could only guess was fur around the collar. She was also slightly tanned, and had the same amber eyes. Her hair was also pink, and was hanging loose, cascading around her like a waterfall...

Wait a minute.

This was the girl from the picture.

And then I realized.

This was my bride.

**End Of Chapter Two**

**1 **"Oh, shit!" ( Note: I shall be using many Russian words in this story, but they might not all be properly translated. Please tell me if I have translated something incorrectly. )

Bit longer than I expected, that chapter. I was actually intending to put in Kai's experience with Paolo - that would have been good for a few laughs - but that would have made the chapter even longer, and besides, I know nothing about beauty. xD So Paolo was cut.

I'm currently trying to find a place for Kai's family to enter the scene. I think that they'll probably appear around the fourth chapter, but I'm considering making it the fifth, so Kai and Mao can have more..._quality time_ together.

Ta da! Rei has entered the story - I'm sure all of you people who were practically dying for him to enter so that Kai and Mao wouldn't get very far are happy right now. :) So am I - but I can't remember how long his ponytail is, so I just sort of made it up. And I'm imagining the Rei from the first season for this story. Same with Mao.

Oh, and one more thing - I'm considering making Tala enter the story as well, but I don't know what spot to place him in. I'm considering making him Kai's friend (maybe his only friend), but I would also like some alternate ideas.

And before I leave, one more thing - I was looking up Russian names for this chapter, and I found this while I was searching:

Yuri - Russian form of George meaning "Earth worker or farmer".

George.

_George. _xD

I just find that too hilarious. Review, please!


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